On Saturday, August 19th, a group of volunteers from the Oldman River Chapter, Oldman Watershed Council, Pincher Creek MD, and Trout Unlimited Canada worked to reclaim an old stream crossing and restore some of the surrounding bank. On the previous day, concrete barricades were installed along an unneeded, unimproved road to prevent vehicle access to the stream. On the Saturday, volunteers planted several bushes and trees - Silverberry, Dogwood, Willow, Rose - as well as some grasses to help stabilize and reclaim the banks leading in and out of the crossing. It was a great success - pictures below:

Barricades installed across unimproved road leading to Chipman Creek.

The road to Chipman Creek is paved with good intentions...

Volunteers working to restore Chipman Creek.

Unfortunately, the work was vandalized soon after (possibly hours after). A barricade was removed to allow vehicle access; trees, bushes, and grasses were torn up; a vehicle attempted to cross, appears to have become stuck, and had to work to get back out of the creek. Some pictures, below:

Nothing can diminish the value of the work our volunteers did out at Chipman Creek, especially not the misdoing of an ignorant vandal(s). That said, there is some physical damage, and volunteers are on hand to make repairs. We'll keep you posted!